1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imprint apparatus and an article manufacturing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the demand for microfabrication of semiconductor devices increases, not only a conventional photolithography technology but also a microfabrication technology in which an uncured resin on a substrate is molded using a mold to thereby form a resin pattern on the substrate have been receiving attention. This technology is also referred to as an “imprint technology”, by which a fine structure with dimensions of a few nanometers can be formed on a substrate. One example of imprint technologies includes a photo-curing method. An imprint apparatus employing the photo-curing method first applies an ultraviolet curable resin (imprint resin, photocurable resin) to a shot area (imprint area) on a substrate (wafer). Next, the resin (uncured resin) is molded by a mold. After the ultraviolet curable resin is irradiated with ultraviolet light for curing, the cured resin is released from the mold, whereby a resin pattern is formed on the substrate.
In general, the imprint apparatus performs a mold-releasing operation after a resin has been completely cured in one shot, and then, goes to imprint processing for another shot. In contrast, in order to make the time required for a series of imprint processing steps short, there is a method that performs mold-releasing operation in a semi-cured state without waiting for complete curing of a resin in one shot and goes to imprint processing for another shot. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-117201 discloses a polyester decorative board manufacturing method in which mold-pressing for bringing a shaping film (mold) into contact with an uncured resin on a substrate in an area is performed, and then, a mold-releasing operation is performed before the resin is completely cured. Note that the manufacturing method employs a thermal cycle method for curing a resin by irradiating the resin with infrared radiation. Also, U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 2008/0230959 discloses an imprint method in which a resin polymerization is started by light irradiation, and then, a mold-releasing operation is performed before the resin polymerization has been completed.
Here, in the methods for performing a mold-releasing operation in a semi-cured state as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-117201 and U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 2008/0230959, a resin needs to be completely cured by irradiating the resin with light again after the mold-releasing operation. However, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-117201 and U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 2008/0230959 do not discuss the fact on how light irradiation is performed after the mold-releasing operation.